Ignorance is not bliss when it comes to pensions: the main reason Irish people are not saving enough for their retirement today is lack of knowledge or awareness of pensions, with almost two-thirds (64%) of financial advisors surveyed nationwide citing this as one of the key reasons people are falling behind on their pension savings.
And the high cost of living in Ireland is also having a major toll on pension savings, with six in ten (60%) financial advisors citing day-to-day living costs such as grocery and childcare bills as one of the top reasons Irish people are not saving enough into their pension.
This is according to the findings of a new survey of over 215 financial advisors nationwide, undertaken by leading pension trustees, Independent Trustee Company (ITC). The survey examined why financial advisors believe people are not saving adequately for their pension.
Top 5 reasons Irish people are falling behind on pension savings
The survey found that the Top 5 reasons people are not saving enough into their pensions are:
- Lack of knowledge/awareness of pensions: 64% of advisors cited this as one of the main reasons (see Table in Appendix)
- High day-to-day living costs (non-housing related – e.g. childcare, grocery etc): 60%
- Poor budgeting & money management skills: 27%
- Lack of interest in pension savings: 24%
- Unaffordable housing: 20%
Commenting on the survey findings, Glenn Gaughran, head of business development with the Independent Trustee Company (ITC) said:
“In the case of pensions and retirement, ignorance simply is not bliss – many will get a big financial shock in retirement if they don’t have enough money to retire on. Saving enough into your pension throughout the course of, and from early on in, your career – is one of the simplest and most effective ways to build substantial retirement savings over the long term. So, it’s worrying that our survey has found that lack of knowledge or awareness of pensions is the main reason people are falling behind on their pension savings – as it could well be the case that many people who could afford to save - or to save more - into their pension simply aren’t doing so because they’re not pension savvy.
The toll that the high cost of living in Ireland is having on pension savings is also worrying, with day-to-day living costs emerging as the second main reason Irish people are falling behind on their pensions. High day-to-day living costs can impede people’s ability to save and prepare for their retirement – as they must focus on meeting immediate expenses such as mortgage repayments, rent, utility and grocery bills, which in turn makes it difficult for them to prioritise pension savings.”
Looking back to Summer 2025
The Top 5 reasons Irish people are falling behind on their pensions savings today are broadly similar to those revealed by a survey conducted by the ITC in summer 2025 (see Table in Appendix). For example, in summer 2025, six in ten advisers cited day-to-day living costs such as grocery bills and childcare as one of the main reasons people are falling behind on their pension savings – a similar number to today.
Mr Gaughran added:
“If anything, inflation is a bigger challenge for Irish people today that it was last year: inflation has crept up since summer 2025[1] and households have been hit with successive price hikes in private health insurance and electricity as well as above-average inflation for many grocery staples. Furthermore, June 2026 also saw the first ECB hike in about three years, with another ECB rate rise expected by the end of this year. It’s important that the Government does something in the upcoming Budget to alleviate the high cost of living. Unless more is done by the Government to tackle Ireland’s high living costs so that people can save adequately for their retirement, many simply won’t have a comfortable or even basic standard of living when they retire.
The lack of knowledge of pensions also needs to be tackled by the Government head on, particularly as life expectancy in Ireland increases. The message of why it’s so important to save adequately into your pension – and the consequences that Irish people will face otherwise – needs to be communicated in a way which hits home to Irish people. The launch of Auto Enrolment earlier this year will certainly help to plug this country’s pension coverage gap but AE in itself may not be enough to help many people build up their pension pots to a level which will afford them a comfortable standard of living in retirement.
As we go through life, there will always be financial priorities which trump others – whether that be saving for a deposit on a house, affording the rent, bringing up a family or even travelling. But it is important that this is not done at the expense of building up, or saving adequately into, a pension. Waiting until near retirement to address a gap in pension savings will simply be too late.”
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